Metamorphosis
by Maichiuu
Summary: Yuu was disguised at a young age to live her life as a human boy by her mother Eto, a witch, to protect her during the apocalypse. When Yuu discover her past and true self amidst becoming a demon, she struggles to cope along with Shinoa and Kimizuki. The three find solace once reuniting with their parents, yet struggle to contain their ravenous hunger and reliance from the vampires
1. Maternal Instinct

A/N:I haven't written a fanfic in forever and it feels great to be doing it again! Anyway, it was hard to explain what was really going on in the summary but a better one is in here just right below!

 _ **Summary:**_ Yuu was disguised at a young age to live her life as a human boy by her mother Eto, a witch, to protect her during the apocalypse and afterward. When Yuu discover her past and true self amidst becoming a demon, she struggles to cope along with Shinoa and Kimizuki. The three find solace once reuniting with their parents, yet struggle to contain their ravenous hunger and reliance from the vampires to contain themselves. Yuu hides her frustration and denial through anger, but secretly hides that she's struggling with newfound changes and confides in Mika to get through it. Shinoa, on the other hand, pretends she's alright, but hides her ravenous hunger. Kimizuki doesn't care and embraces his ghoul side in order to rescue his sister, Mirai.

* * *

As the battle at Nagoya started to come to a close, Eto watched intensely as her child helplessly fell from the sky after they stabbed themselves in the chest. As Yuu's mother, she should be worried, but she wasn't. She knew that Yuu would be saved. Afterall, she foresaw it herself.

Like she predicted, Eto heard a teenaged boy with brown hair up in a ponytail wielding a long black trident yell. "Gen Bushin! Catch him!"

Slowly, a smile spread across her face, relieved that her premonition had come true. That her child was out of harm's way and into the protective care of her squad companions once more. With her eyes still glued on the battlefield, Eto then drew her attention towards two vampires overwhelming Japan's Vampire Queen.

Her smoky green eyes narrowed when she saw a familiar silver-haired vampire sink his fangs into the Vampire Queen's neck, swiftly incapacitating her. He dropped her seemingly lifeless body onto the gravel, but soon plucked her up again by the neck to declare to his fellow vampires that she had betrayed her kind.

Eto's smile fell and bit her lower lip in dismay.

 _Ferid Bathory._ She thought. _How typical of you. You are the very last person I wanted to get involved._

"That should be _us_ down there protecting our children," Rize chimed in, her voice cracking as she tried to hide back her tears. "Why are we here if we can't do anything? We are more than capable! This is absurd!"

While Eto was watching her daughter, Rize Kamishiro was doing the exact same for her own. The once feared Binge Eater watched with anxious intensity the whole entire time as she feared for her daughter's safety. Although already reassured that Shinoa would be fine from Eto, she couldn't help but feel an urge to attack and defend for the safety for her daughter. Her _only_ daughter.

"As of now, Shinoa Squad is seceding from the Imperial Japanese Demon Army!" Shinoa declared boldly. "Let's go everyone! All of us are going to survive!"

"My daughter…" Rize started, her body shaken as she clenched and unclenched her fists. "Our children need us! They are escaping a war zone. They are just kids!"

Eto gritted her teeth angrily, but relaxed as soon as she spoke to hide her own frustration. She didn't disagree with the purple-haired woman, but the circumstances were grim, especially if they decided to intervene. She already looked at the possible outcomes if they did choose that path. They would end up dead. There's just too many people involved to get their hands on Shinoa's Squad and Yuu- especially Yuu. They were better on their own at the moment.

More over, Eto was more than frustrated at this situation. She was fed-up. Unlike Rize, she already had a developed bond with Yuu, but then gave her up to give her a better life for the future apocalypse.

"We came here, " Eto began calmly, clasping her hands together, "to see our children."

"That doesn't answer my question!" Rize hissed, turning her body towards Eto while jabbing her finger towards the battlefield. "Why aren't we _there_? Instead, we are just… observing!"

The One-Eyed Ghoul sighed. "It's not the right time yet, Rize. I understand your frustration, but not today."

"Then, when is the day?"

"I foresaw that we would reunite in a few days. Please do be patient." Eto stated aloofly. "Also, calm down. Anger doesn't befit you, darling."

The green-haired woman smirked teasingly at Rize who was teeming with anger.

"A few more days." Eto reassured once more, still smiling.

"Fine." Rize mumbled, turning away from Eto. Her white heels clattered on the hard, but smooth surface of the roof the two women were standing on to watch over their children. "A few more days…"

Rize then furrowed her eyebrows as she continued to distance herself away from Eto. Still, the green-haired ghoul stood where she was and gazed out in the horizon as she watched her daughter shrink further and further away from the battlefield and out of her site.

"What do _we_ do till then, Eto?" Rize inquired, rotating her head in Eto's direction.

"We prepare."


	2. Light

A/N: Sorry! So I updated the first chapter with a better summary inside! This is the second chapter and I hope it's going well so far. I'll get to the kids when I can. I think maybe the next chapter will include the kids! Yeah! I'm excited for this fanfic and I hope that there are people enjoying it! Please leave a review when you can thanks!

* * *

With her long, wavy green hair swaying in the wind, Eto took one last glimpse of the saturated blood-red sunset and began to walk towards her traveling companion. Rize was already a good distance away from her. They've already stayed too long and it was time to leave, anyway. On the surface, Eto's expression was stoic, but in the inside she was overjoyed to see Yuu again. Happy thoughts surging through her, Eto gleefully trotted to catch up with Rize and childishly looped her arm around hers.

Still irritated, the purple-haired woman couldn't resist her left eye from twitching. The woman was obviously still upset, however, she trusted Eto's judgement so she didn't question her any further. It's what saved her in the first place. Easing up, Rize slid her arm out of Eto's grip.

"So…" Rize started, clapping her hands together with her lips pursed tightly. "What will you do about that demon problem, hm? On top of that, what are you also going to do about that seraph problem?"

"It will be handled," Eto stated blandly whilst grimacing slightly.

 _But not the way I wanted it to be. I can control one side, but not the other._

"In the meantime, let's head back to Nishiki and Kimi."

Rize nodded her head in agreement, while the whites of her eyes turned black and her eyes a bright, glowing red. Sensing her companion's instincts, Eto's kakugan activated in her left eye. Together, the two female ghouls activated their kagunes, jumping down from the roof they were standing on and onto another. They weaved their way up and down the ruined buildings that made up the future Japan with ease. All four of Rize's tentacles assisted her in springing up and absorbing impact as she traveled through the different leveled buildings. Meanwhile, Eto was in her toned down form where her standard kagune made her movements more graceful and nimble.

"Where did you say they would meet us?" Rize inquired.

"In the subway where the Harajuku station is located," she said, jumping down lightly on a graveled roof. "I told them to stay in the shadows and out of sight while we were out. In addition, I put a repel charm to ward off any Horsemen. They should be fine. We are almost there. Just a few more blocks."

Eto launched forward to get to their destination faster and Rize soon followed as she pierced one of her tentacles beneath her to give her momentum. Catching up with Eto once more, Rize knew something was amiss with her. To Rize, Eto was still a mystery and always has been and will be. But she did _know_ when something was bugging Eto. The once former infamous One-Eyed Owl knew how to mask her emotions well over the harsh years as a young, orphaned ghoul on the streets, however Rize has gotten to know her for _years_ now.

She would get slightly fidgety and impatient at times and it would show briefly, but then Eto would always try to hide that it was ever there. But those brief moments showed her true self- her human self.

"You didn't know, did you?" Rize asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Didn't know what, exactly?"

"That Yuu-chan has that thing. _That_ demon beginning to take control of her." She said.

"No, I did not. But again, it's being dealt with." Eto admitted vexingly, gritting her teeth.

"She'll turn into a namanari at this rate... or even a demon." Rize continued.

"I know. I saved you from becoming possessed. Don't worry about it," the ghoul insisted, feigning a smile at Rize.

Rize shrugged and looked away, uncomfortable that Eto was starting to get passive-aggressive. Then, the crumbling image of Harajuku Station came into their view, and Eto immediately noticed that Nishiki did not follow what he was told. He was standing outside with his shoulder resting on the entrance, while his face was painted with an annoyed expression.

"How typical of you," sighed Eto.

"Men never listen, do they?" Rize joked.

Looking up and adjusting his glasses, Nishiki straightened his posture against the wall he was leaning on and drew his attention to Rize and Eto. "It's about damn time you came back. What the hell took so long?!"

"We kinda got caught in the moment," Rize admitted earnestly, trying to look innocent as possible whilst she hid her arms behind her back. Playfully, she twirled her tentacles in the air, until she had enough and dissipated it into the air.

"Tch. I should've been there to see my kids," Nishiki growled while tightening the grip around his crossed arms.

Eto snapped her head in his direction as her feet reached the ground. "No, you shouldn't have. You would of reacted on impulse and revealed ourselves if you were there. If you saw what we saw, that is."

Suddenly, Nishiki was right in front of Eto's face with his kakugan activated. His face twisted with anger and concern, his hands clenched by his sides as if he were prepared to fight.

"What happened?!" Nishiki demanded.

Gently, Eto pressed her hand against his chest to push him away from her.

"They are alive, but their condition isn't the best," Eto explained, with her eyes gazing up at Nishiki with a playful smirk on her face. "Shihō is wounded, but Rize's daughter, Shinoa, ordered everyone to retreat to safety. They had to leave the army for their safety. They sacrificed their own soldiers to fuel their new Seraph. "

A wave of relief flowed through Nishiki's body as he heard that his son was alive, however he was still concerned about Mirai. What of her? Surely, Shihō looked after his sister just as he promised. He _knows_ that he did so. Unbeknownst to the Kimizuki boy, or rather the Nishio boy, his father had been watching him from afar. Nishiki witnessed himself that he defended Mirai, trained for Mirai, and visited Mirai while she was in the hospital. However, with her big brother gone from the Japanese Imperial Demon Army and hearing that they turned not only on humans, but their own soldiers just made Nishiki more worried.

 _What else are these people capable of?_ He thought.

"What about Mirai? Do you think she'll be safe?"

Eto just stared blankly. Her fake smile fell and she pursed her lips together tightly. "Um, well…About that."

Behind her, Rize crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Tch. There's no point in sugar coating it, Eto. Those humans turned your daughter, your Mirai, into a seraph."

"They made her the fifth trumpet, Nishiki." Eto stated, "I know that this isn't easy to take in, but you have to be strong for Kimi. You need her and she needs you. Most importantly, _I_ need her for this plan to work."

Nishiki just gawked at her as he tried to comprehend the current status of both of his children.

"She'll be so freaked out when I tell her," Nishiki groaned, rubbing his forehead.

"Where is she, anyway?" Rize inquired, tilting her head behind Eto to grab his attention.

"She's in the subway, sitting inside the information booth." said Nishiki, "I told her I needed some air, but what I really wanted was to see you first before her to get an update. So I can prepare myself to tell her. Your premonitions aren't all sunshine and rainbows, One-Eyed Owl."

"I know Shihō is fine. He'll heal in a couple days." Eto reassured, reaching up to pat Nishiki's shoulder. "However, I can't see Mirai's status clearly anymore. Not after she fully became a seraph."

"Then, what do I say?"

"Just say they are both alive. It's not a lie," the ghoul began. "The Japanese Imperial Demon Army wouldn't kill her, anyway. They couldn't. She has become their tool of destruction to use on their command whenever they want. Moreover, she is their first seraph that they have successfully controlled. As long as she is useful to them, they won't kill her. That much I know."

Nishiki's eyes dashed back and forth in his sockets as he tried to figure out a better way in telling his wife, but he sighed as he realized there was no other way.

"Augh! You're positive as always." The man groaned, leaning out and throwing his head back in exasperation. "Give me a minute, will ya?"

"Of course, we'll be here if you need us." Eto replied with a smile.

With that Nishiki disappeared into the darkness of the abandoned station. His footsteps echoed throughout the abandoned station, bringing life to the desolate place. Approaching the metal bars leading to the trains, he grunted as he tried to push the rusted bar with his hands. Nervously, his fingers fidgeted to adjust his glasses when the information booth came to view.

He wrapped his knuckles against the door and said, "Oi, Kimi. It's Nishiki. I'm coming in."

The door moaned in protest as Nishiki pushed open the door, revealing Kimi tucked in a corner with a talisman prepared between her her index and middle-finger. Her stance was relaxed once she laid her eyes upon the familiar brunette.

She sighed. "Don't scare me like that. I heard footsteps and I thought it was someone or something else. You could've yelled my name or something to alert that you're back."

The brunette man threw his head back in amusement. "Ahaha. Babe, don't worry. I was only out for 10 minutes and this place was secured recently by the human army."

An exasperated expression painted across the woman's face as she burned the talisman in her hands. "How are the kids?"

"They're both alive," Nishiki started, sliding his hands in his pockets and bouncing on the balls of his feet back and forth.

 _At least this news will at least give her some hope._ Nishiki thought.

Since the apocalypse hit, it hasn't been easy on Kimi. Especially being a human that should've died. She was separated from both her children right before the apocalypse hit when Eto gave the news and the vaccine to protect her from the virus. Kimi wasn't able to cope for the first few years to adjust to her new reality. Sure, she loves Nishiki and he _was_ and _is_ the sole person she relies on to keep her sane, but she misses being a mother.

Shihō reminded her so much of his father- loyal and protective of those near to him, especially Mirai. However, he was a little snob like his dad, too. And her sweet Mirai, always having a positive view in life and putting others before herself. Those children were her light, but now they were gone and her life has been filled with darkness and fear in this new world. However, despite the years she's missed, she now has a chance to meet up with them again.

Upon hearing those words from her husband's mouth, a smile of joy slowly spread across her face, making Nishiki's heart throb. He hasn't seen that beautiful, lovely smile he adores so much on her face in a long time. Her smile, with those smooth pink lips that he's kissed so many times and white teeth that sparkled, was one of the many reasons he fell in love with her. It made him feel safe and it comforted him that he was never alone. Never.

"That's great! Oh, Nishiki, I'm so happy." Kimi exclaimed, embracing Nishiki as she burrowed her head in his chest. "We'll finally be a family again."

Suddenly, Nishiki felt cold and, although she couldn't see it, her lover's face showed an expression of guilt and pain as he embraced her. Tentatively, Nishiki pulled her closer to his chest and kissed her hair. Still holding on to her with his left arm, he stroked her hair and continued to nuzzle her as his heart raced.

 _If only you knew._ Nishiki thought ominously.

Still in his embrace, Kimi gazed into his eyes as she leaned forward to plant a kiss on his lips. Trying to savor the moment, Nishiki closed his eyes and pressed his lips gently against hers.

 _I missed this._ They thought simultaneously.

Suddenly pulling away, Kimi looked up at him with another one of her special smiles that was only for him.

"Should we get going?" She suggested, "Eto and Rize are out there, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then, let's go!" The red-haired woman exclaimed excitedly, pulling on Nishiki's arm towards the door. "Eto-san told me she needed me to help her after she came back."

* * *

A/N: We shall see what Eto has planned. Fufufufufuu.


	3. Footprint

A/N: I apologize if this isn't very interesting very far. ~. It's been so long since I've written a fanfic, but normally in my writing a build up to things. I"ll get to the main crew in dah next chapter! I've been trying to update daily, so hopefully things keep coming!

* * *

Nishiki and Kimi squinted as they emerged from the dark subway station and into the light. Kimi shielded the sun away from her eyes, while Nishiki pulled her along to meet up with Eto and Rize.

"Augh," Kimi complained, shaking her head. "I was in there longer than I thought."

"What the hell took _you_ guys so long?" Rize taunted with her arms on her hips. "We were out here for 15 minutes. We need to go."

"Sorry, Rize-san" apologized Kimi embarrassingly. "We didn't mean to make you wait."

"Did you two fuck or something?" Rize purred teasingly, coming forward to jab Kimi in the chest. "It's no wonder why Nishiki likes you so much."

A burning sensation filled Kimi's cheek, her mind scrambling in embarrassment over the sudden question. She was used to the ravenous ghoul's antics, but it was always humiliating for something so personal, like, her sexual life with Nishiki to be exploited so casually.

"Wha-what?!" Kimi stammered.

"Pfffff. Hahahaha. I'm joking." Rize reassured, waving her hand dismissively. "However, I know Nishiki here has been feeling pent up."

With her out most glee, Rize patted him on the shoulder. Nishiki just glared at Rize to with his eyes saying demanding her to stop, but she just simply continued to smile innocently at him.

"Oh, you know it's true, sweetheart."

"Shut up." Nishiki growled aggressively, swiping her arm away. "Stop prying in my thoughts. And last time I checked you're still a virgin."

"Last time, I checked _you're_ still an asshole." Rize snapped back.

 _Well,_ everyone's _back to their usual selves again._ Eto thought bitterly.

"Enough." Eto interjected with her arms crossed. "I need Kimi for this if we want to see our kids."

"Uh, ummm," she stammered, still flustered. "Of course! What do I need to do Eto-san?"

"It's a bit much I know, but I need you to set up a perimeter consisting of talismans around a small fishing village."

 _That's a bizarre request._ Kimi thought, with a puzzled expression on her face.

Kimi couldn't believe what she was hearing. In fact, she had trouble with what she just heard. Eto's requests and mannerisms are so bizarre to Kimi, that she had a hard time understanding what the woman's motives and plans were. It's not that she didn't trust her. Without her, Kimi wouldn't have had Shiho and Mirai. As a matter of fact, Kimi wouldn't be living at all if it weren't for her. That fact of the matter is it was just that Eto was… an enigma.

The green-haired beauty never explained what her visions showed to her peers, only that certain steps must be taken to ensure that it happens this way. Or to prepare in advance as an advantage. Even before then, as the infamous One-Eyed Ghoul, she was known to work in the darkness and be behind the scenes in the ghoul world.

"Is something the matter?" Eto inquired firmly.

"No! Not at all!" She stammered, waving her hands frantically. "It's just… um. What do you need them for? I just need to know because I need a certain amount to contain or trap certain things."

Eto smiled pleasantly at Kimi.

 _Did I ask the right question?_ Kimi wondered.

"Oh, of course! Silly me." Eto said. "I need them to ward off some Horsemen in the area and to disable any vampires when need be."

"When will we be leaving?" Kimi inquired.

"Now." Eto said flatly. "Get the car please."

Kimi nodded curtly and turned on her heel to retrieve the green army jeep that they've managed to found after the battle of Shinjuku. Nishiki immediately followed her to escort her toward the vehicle. From the station, she kept straight and turned a left, revealing a crudely covered car in the corner with limited brush cover. Reaching for the door, Kimi fished out the keys and handed them to Nishiki, unlocking the door manually to ensure that no one was around to alert their presence. She quickly hopped in along with Nishiki into the car and the engine roared to life.

 _Vroom! Vroom!_

Looking back, Nishiki backed up to straighten the car's position and pulled back out to retrieve Rize and Eto. As he pulled in towards the curb, Eto and Rize swiftly glided into the car.

"Where to Eto-san?" Kimi inquired.

"To a small fishing village near the coast," Eto began. "You can't really miss it. It's one of the few left that have human residents in a neutral zone."

Although her face did not show it, her eyes still gleamed with excitement and joy with the prospect of finally getting ready to meet up with Yuu. Her Yuu. Her beautiful, perfect Yuu. Like her human companion, Eto's true light was her child. Being born into a world that despised her, she didn't think anyone could or would love her. Not until Yuu was born. Having that child defied all the words that she used to define herself as who she was- a monstrous, heartless murderer. Or an orphan that had no hope for herself. A mother was the last thing she thought she could ever be.

In this messed up world, her pride and joy was her writing. Each book possessed their own unique footprint that preserved her cynical views of the world, embedding her personal trauma into each one to personalize with both the human and ghoul world. Now, her only pride and joy is Yuu: her ultimate masterpiece. The only footprint that survived all this carnage.

* * *

A/N: I just wanna get to the part where they all meet up to be honest. Bluh, everything will be explained in the 5th chapter most likely. Writing is just hard guys. BLUHHHH.


	4. Ties that Bind Part 1

A/N: I know that the past few chapters feel really short and unsatisfying, but I write short chapters and I wanted to give insight on all the parents before I got into anything. But now, I'm getting to the good stuff.

* * *

"Remove them! Just remove the chains!" Yuu bellowed, yanking on the chains.

Hearing the commotion, Mika swiftly entered the chamber restraining Yuu with a pocket watch in hand. Mika knew that this demon was going to act up sooner or later, but he had no idea when and how long the phase lasted.

 _It was just acting up this morning, hopefully it shouldn't last too long._ Mika uttered to himself. _However, this isn't Yuu-chan. He would never be like this if it weren't for those humans. What have they done to you?_

As Mika approached Yuu, they greeted him with a feigned smile.

 _Maybe… I can trick him to release me. He's always worried about his precious Yuu-chan. Yuu- chan. Yuu-chan. It's pathetic to be honest._

Continuing with their act, the demon began begging for Mika to release them. "Hey, Mika… Mika… Please release these chains. Let's run away together. Just like a family. You and me are the only family members, right?"

Mika looked up from his pocket watch and scoffed. "Family? What the hell are you talking about, demon?"

 _Ah, he's not buying it. Maybe he wants some of his precious Yuu's blood. It's a vampire's weakness… I know it's_ _**mine**_ _._

The possessed Yuu insisted on being let free from Mika, but he just replied with a stoic expression on his face and remained indifferent towards Yuu's taunts and pleas.

"I SAID RELEASE IT!" Yuu demanded angrily, violently tugging on the chains.

"115… 116… 117… 118… 119… 120." Mika uttered beneath his breath.

Suddenly, the spiky horns that sprouted from Yuu's head disappeared and sunk back into her skull. "Ah, I turned into a demon again."

Realizing her surroundings, Yuu blinked uncertainly and looked up to see Mika before her. Composing herself, Yuu greeted Mika with a wide grin as an attempt to try to dissipate the tense atmosphere. She knew that Mika was upset. It's just that… she didn't want him to worry.

 _We're finally back together now, and that's all that matters shouldn't it?_ Yuu thought to herself.

Still smiling, she looked up at Mika and greeted him with a hello.

"Don't 'hello,' me" Mika hissed back, his red eyes glistening with displeasure.

"And it starts…" Yuu mouthed to herself, pulling at the chains to signal for release. Seeing her gestures, Mika sighed and unclasped the cuffs around Yuu's wrists, letting each one slide out to the ground as he helped Yuu get up. And as she predicted, once she was on her feet, Mika started berating her.

"I think Yuu-chan doesn't get it, since he's an idiot."

"I'm not an idiot," Yuu replied calmly, whilst rubbing her wrists and stretching her arms.

"If you become a demon for two minutes longer each day," Mika began, "you will be a demon for half a day in just half a year…"

"Well, that's a problem."

"It _is_ a problem! A huge one in fact!"

"I said I was sorry!" Yuu interjected.

Mika's face became steely and he bit his lip in frustration as he started to approach Yuu and jab his gloved finger at her. In response, Yuu just slumped over; further making Mika more frustrated. "You promised me that you would turn me back into a human… But how can you do that if you aren't even human! Furthermore, what a waste of time saving those useless humans. There is no way back now!"

"But because of those useless humans," Yuu argued, beaming up at Mika, "you are still alive and now they're your friends."

 _Knock! Knock!_ It was Shinoa. "It's been about three hours since the demon took over. Are you awake now, Yuu-san?"

"Yeah, I just woke up!" Yuu chimed, smiling.

As Shinoa and Yuu greeted each other, Mika couldn't help the boiling hatred he had for Shinoa and the _other_ humans. She acted like she was Yuu's friend, but he knew that she wasn't really there for Yuu. These humans will do anything to get their hands on his Yuu.

 _It's because of you and you're human army that Yuu is like this._ Mika thought bitterly as he bit his lips in frustration.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shinoa glanced up at Mika and welcomed him with a warm smile. With her eyes beaming, she brandished a thermos filled with a dark red liquid from behind her back and held it in front of him.

"By the way Mika-san. It's been about three days from the last time you drank blood," Shinoa began. "Isn't it about time to drink again?"

Mika's forehead furrowed and twisted his face into a glare. His new ruby, red eyes seethed with anger.

 _This girl has the audacity to…!_

"What's that? Don't just do whatever you want.

Suddenly without hesitation, Yuu pointed to himself with out most glee and suggested, "If that's the case then he can drink my blood."

In response, Shinoa raised her hands dismissively towards Yuu and continued to smile at Mika. "No, Yuu-san I don't think you'll be able to endure it. This is a bottle containing everyone's blood. Everyone pitched in their blood a little and collected it here. Will this suite your taste?"

Shinoa shyly, but surely pulled a large plastic bottle filled with red liquid from behind her back and held it in front of Mika as an offering. Mika's eyes were fixated on the bottle. It's been awhile since he last drank blood, but he was definitely _not_ going to cave in to his vampiric instincts. Not when Yuu needs him most. He doesn't want to be the monster, he just wants to be Mika. The Mika that was always at Yuu's side when they were children. The Mika that took on the responsibility to care for his family. His old, former self.

His _human_ self.

Gritting his teeth, Mika narrowed his eyes on the bottle with a burning hatred, and then glared directly at Shinoa.

 _How dare this human offer me anything._ Mika thought.

Ashamed, Mika quickly turned his head away. Unfortunately for him, Yuu immediately realized his discomfort.

 _Just live Mika… At least for me. Please._

"It's alright Mika," she reassured, whilst gesturing Mika to take the bottle.

Shinoa drew her eyes away from Mika and scanned the room, her light brown eyes darting at every crease and crevice in the containment cell. Her eyes widened when they stumbled upon the broken shackles that laid slackly against the wall.

 _Well, this isn't very good._ Shinoa thought to herself wryly. _It's not something that can't be fixed, but Yuu-san's demon problem is getting worse… Just what did Guren do?!_

She didn't want to panic either Yuu or Mika right now. They've all just came out of a massive ordeal, afterall. It was best to maintain the positive aspects to continue to survive. Shinoa quickly rotated her head to face Mika behind her, giving her best smile to ease both Yuu and Mika.

"You act like you're comrades with Yuu," Mika snapped angrily, hovering above Shinoa's body. "I won't forget the fact that you _humans_ were experimenting on Yuu."

 _Oh, I would kill you right now if I could. It would be so easy._ Mika thought viciously. _But… Yuu would never forgive me._

No longer smiling, Shinoa's face went slack and her eyes stared blankly at the floor. Although, she wouldn't admit it to her squad, she couldn't help but feel responsible for all of this. Her family, the omnipotent Hiragi family, experimented and created a Seraph, but not without the needed sacrifice of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army's soldiers. Too many innocent lives were lost just to create a weapon. And Kimizuki… the remaining family he has is being used as a weapon of mass destruction to further her brother's ruthless ambitions. So much unnecessary bloodshed and tragedy was intertwined with her family that she wasn't a part of, yet she is still Hiragi, but at the same time not. She was still connected to them, and felt ashamed of herself for that reason.

Yuu hastily put himself between Mika and Shinoa and as an attempt to diffuse the situation. "Mika, Shinoa is not the one to blame here."

"Guren was your family, right" Mika lectured, his red eyes narrowing. "And in the end what did he do to you?"

Yuu opened her mouth to protest, but she tightly pursed her lips instead. The last encounter with Guren on the battlefield was …painful. She remembered his eyes were a gleaming ruby red... but glassy and empty, showing no signs of the warmness it once held. His cheshire grin, brimming with his white teeth were vicious and malevolent. It wasn't the stupid, welcoming smile that Yuu cherished. Despite his shocking appearance, Yuu couldn't get the one burning image out of her head.

Guren was crying. Her family was in pain in front of her, that's what she knew and that's what she saw. That's the only thing she remembered before... Right before he brought his Cursed Gear swiftly across her body. Everything was a blank after that.

 _To be honest, there's been a lot of blanks._ Yuu thought. _Not just with me… but with Guren. Who are you? Where are you?_

Attempting once more, Yuu let out a sigh and uttered once more, "But didn't you see Guren was crying."

"So what if he was crying that doesn't mean anything!" Mika hissed.

 _Oh, boy. Things need to cool down._ After examining the broken shackles she, once more, gave her best smile to the two of them and quickly suggested that they should eat. She offered Mika the bottle filled with blood.

He smacked it out of her hand in response.

"Mika, now isn't the time for this." Yuu pleaded, looking at Mika carefully.

 _Dammit, you idiot. Please just drink the damn blood. You already drank mine._

"You're telling me to drink that?!" Mika demanded. His face was twisted in anguish and disgust as he looked away from Yuu. Composing himself, he looked directly at Yuu's emerald ones. "I won't. I refuse to be that woman's pet."

"Shinoa never had that intention." Yuu replied, exasperated. "Just think about of this as friend's blood."

Right was Mika was reaching for it, a sudden commotion was heard outside. His ears perked up. Someone was running.

"EVERYONE FROM SHINOA'S SQUAD! PLEASE HELP US. THE MONSTERS ARE COMING AGAIN."

Without a thought, the three of them ran out of the cell and into the battle.

 _After the Battle_

"Phew! That was a nice warm-up!" Yuu exclaimed, stretching her arms in the air in satisfaction. "At least the Imperial Demon Army prepared us for this kind of thing. The Four Horsemen of John are barely a warm-up to me now."

"Hey, idiot," Kimizuki chided. "Don't get too cocky. That's how you get killed."

Yuu turned around with a crossed expression written on her face. Unfortunately, while turning, she felt something around her chest give way from what it was suppressing. She folded her arms across her chest to hide her breasts that were beginning to rise up, however she still wasn't going to let Kimizuki have his way with her.

"Ah. Lemme have some fun." Yuu stated

From behind, Mika narrowed his eyes in worry.

 _A warm-up? The Four Horsemen of John are still supposed to be challenging to any_ human. _This_ just _proves my point._

"Is there only air in that head of yours or wha-"

"Andddddd… I gotta go!" Yuu interrupted, jogging away from her team mates. "I gotta use the restroom for a bit! I've been needing to pee since we were fighting! I'll meet you guys outside after I'm done."

"He's such an idiot…" Kimizuki mumbled, nodding his head.

"I HEARD THAT FOUR EYES!"

"GO TINKLE, PISS-BABY!"

"GOT ANYTHING BETTER?!" Yuu challenged, yelling louder.

"YOU KNOW?! I GOT PLENTY! YOU JUST MAKE IT SO EASY FOR YOURSELF SOOO YOU CA…"

Kimizuki became inaudible to her ears as she distanced herself away from them up the hill to the nearest restroom she could find. When she was distancing herself, she fast walked so it wasn't obvious something was undone, but now she laid her right hand above her chest to stop them from bouncing as she ran, while her other swung back and forth.

 _Shit… I hope these didn't tear all the way. I can repair some of it if it isn't too bad. Still, I don't know if I have many bandages left to hide these stupid things._

At first, Yuu went to open the female door, but hastily switched once her eyes met the sign. Sighing, she ran to the other side of the door and swung it open with her remaining hand. Unhinging the door to the stall, Yuu locked herself in biggest stall she could find and quickly undid her uniform. She hung her black and green uniform top over the stall, but let her white blouse slid off her shoulders to the ground. As she did so, the ace bandages that were binding her chest cascaded down to the floor where she could see that it tore in two places.

Sighing, Yuu picked it up, plucked the still functioning safety pins from the damaged bandages, and threw the remains in the trash bin next to the toilet.

Yuu reached into one of the pockets around her belt, pulling out one of the last couple of ace bandages she had left. She held it up to her face, gazing at in disapproval.

 _Why can't I just be myself? I can't stand lying to my family or myself that I'm male. This is such a pain._

Closing her eyes, she brought her right hand to her face, forming a V with her pointer-finger and thumb to rub her temples. "Just get it over with."

She looked down at her chest, ashamed of it, yet… also relieved?

 _It's been awhile since I've seen you. You're the part of my freaking body that reminds me that I'm a girl._

Studying them, she used her left hand to caress one of her breasts, gently cupping it in her grasp, whilst rubbing her thumb on the smooth surface to dull away the ebbing pain. Squeezing it for observation, Yuu cringed and noticed that they were tender to the touch, as well.

"Ah, fucking hell," Yuu cursed, kicking the toilet.

 _THESE STUPID THINGS GOT BIGGER?! HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!_

With the bandages still in hand, Yuu glared at it with contempt and started unrolling the sticky part of the bandage. She brought it around herself towards her center and began wrapping it around herself, pinning the areas needed to secure it.

 _New bandages equals new adjustment again._

With her new layers of bandages on, Yuu brought her arms up and brought them down, then swung them back and forth like a chicken to stretch it out. Yuu rubbed her aching wrists again to soothe them once more.

 _Should I tell Mika?!_ Yuu pondered. _He would still accept me right? Or would he feel deceived? He's in a touchy spot right now. But he still loves me… like, no matter what? Or am I wrong?_

 _Knock! Knock!_

"Ahhh!" Yuu gasped in shock, hastily grabbing the white blouse of the ground to her chest. "Who is it?"

"It's Mika. I'll be outside waiting for you. Don't feel rushed."

"Um, yeah okay. I'm almost finished." Yuu said a bit meekly. "Be there in a sec!"

Yuu fastened her blouse and walked over the stall door to pull down her uniform's jacket, and hastily did the buttons as fast as she could. Once she walked outside, she trotted towards Mika who was leaning against the wall, staring blankly and defiant towards the bottle of blood in his hands.

 _Well, although I can't be myself. At least Mika is here to tell me that he isn't either... but Mika is Mika. The same should apply to me, right?_

* * *

 _A/N: And that's a rap! Sorry for the delayed update. School is a killer!_


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